Hardpack, variable, machine groomed, granular, base, primary, secondary, blah blah blah. Sometimes the resorts are flat-out lying, but not always. When there is a method to their madness, this page explains what all that jargon on the snow report really means.

This is the starting point for getting someone started on a pair of skis. It's not as easy as you think, and if it's a boyfriend trying to teach a girlfriend, it's generally a disaster. Anyway, your best bet for getting someone on skis is to pay for lessons, end of story. Or not...if you insist on training someone, and you don't know what you're doing, click in.

The Turnpike is that winding trail that traverses down the mountain and seems to be a magnet for every novice, kid, and grandmother. If they don't call it the Turnpike they call it "Deer Run" or "Easy Street" or some other thing. Hey, it's a great trail, and no shame skiing it...we all have. But there comes a time when you have to go down the more direct trails. Here's a collection of tips that will help you point 'em down the fall line. Linky.

The top ten "must-ski" trails in the USA...these aren't always the steepest or the toughest -- although some are. Some are historic, some are famous, some are just plain cool. These are the trails, that for one reason or another, are the stuff of legend. Plan to ski these before you die.

A lot of skiers claim this trail or that trail is the steepest, and some ski areas say that such-and-such trail is the steepest in the region, or whatever. Some say it's all subjective...we say otherwise.